Top 5 handhelds for July

July 2008 was when the HTC Touch Diamond and Samsung Omnia SGH-i900 enjoyed their first full calendar month of sales. As expected, these two devices did much better than all the other handhelds, featuring prominently in all the operator and retail shop lists of top-selling devices which we surveyed.

Possibly due to the momentum it enjoyed by being a week or two older than the Omnia, the Diamond edged out just a little to enjoy first spot this month. But not only did Samsung manage a close second with the Omnia, its i780 PDA-phone stayed in front of other HTC perennial favorites in third place.

Note: Results are based on readership as well as data collected from retail outlets (Mobile Square and WhyMobile) and the major mobile operators in Singapore including:

MobileOne

SingTel

StarHub

	1.	HTC Touch Diamond   CNET Asia rating: 8.2 out of 10 The good: Opera browser; YouTube application; TouchFLO 3D interface; sharp VGA display; compact and attractive design; 4GB internal storage. The bad: No microSD card slot; poor battery life; no dedicated audio mini-jack; occasional slowdowns in interface. The bottom line: The Diamond brings much innovation to the Windows Mobile platform and is a great handheld for both business and entertainment. Review | See full specs | Rate this
	2.	Samsung Omnia SGH-i900 (16GB)   CNET Asia rating: 8 out of 10 The good: Full range of wireless features; haptic feedback; improved text input methods; navigation software included; attractive design; excellent battery life; Opera 9.5 browser included. The bad: Some apps may not work properly; finger scrolling not consistently implemented; use of microSD slot requires battery removal; no stylus slot. The bottom line: The Omnia is a good alternative to the HTC Touch Diamond with a competitive price and a truckload of features, though Samsung does need to work on the interface to improve its consistency and usefulness. Review | See full specs | Rate this
	3.	Samsung SGH-i780   CNET Asia rating: 8 out of 10 The good: Attractive price; good QWERTY keyboard; convenient shortcuts; slim design; extra battery included. The bad: Square screen may not work well with third-party programs; optical joystick not as fast as regular directional pad; bundled GPS app not optimized. The bottom line: Though not perfect, the i780 is an excellent choice for those who want the most features in a sub-S$1,000 PDA-phone. Review | See full specs | Rate this
	4.	HTC TyTN II       CNET Asia rating: 7.9 out of 10 The good: A host of data connectivity options including HSDPA; GPS with bundled maps; good battery life; 3-megapixel autofocus camera. The bad: Heavy and bulky; still QVGA display; no camera light; no audio mini-jack. The bottom line: It may not be a quantum leap compared with the 838 Pro, but the TyTN II maintains what power users loved in the previous iteration--with a few extras. Review | See full specs | Rate this
	5.	HTC Touch (2nd generation)   CNET Asia rating: 7 out of 10 The good: Very compact design; Windows Mobile 6 Professional; TouchFLO interface; attractive modified Home screen; 128MB RAM makes interface snappy. The bad: Lacks 3G; poor SIM card and microSD slot design. The bottom line: With more color choices and much better performance due to the increased RAM, the enhanced Touch is what the original should have been to begin with. Review | See full specs | Rate this